What does "fight" mean?

Q: What does "fight" mean?

1. (physical struggle) an occasion where people use physical force against each other. 2. (argument) an angry disagreement or a verbal struggle between people. 3. (sports match) a boxing or martial arts match. 4. (will to succeed) the desire or ability to keep trying when things are difficult. 5. (to engage in combat) to use physical force or weapons against someone. 6. (to struggle for a cause) to work very hard to achieve something or to stop something bad. 7. (to resist a feeling) to try hard not to show or feel an emotion.

fight — meaning, definition & examples

Word

Infinitive

fight

Past

fought

Past participle

fought

01physical struggle

A2 · Elementary Countable noun

n. an occasion where people use physical force against each other.

n. a physical confrontation or combat between individuals or groups.

“The two boys got into a fight on the playground during lunch break.”

“The peaceful protest unfortunately devolved into a violent fight after several agitators began throwing stones at the security line.”

Synonyms

brawl clash scuffle

Antonyms

peace truce

02argument

A2 · Elementary Countable noun

n. an angry disagreement or a verbal struggle between people.

n. a verbal dispute or disagreement, often characterized by anger or hostility.

“They had a big fight about money and didn't speak for two days.”

“What started as a minor misunderstanding over household chores escalated into a bitter fight that lasted the entire weekend.”

Synonyms

argument quarrel row

Antonyms

agreement harmony

03sports match

B1 · Intermediate Countable noun Sports

n. a boxing or martial arts match.

n. a professional or amateur bout in combat sports such as boxing, wrestling, or MMA.

“We bought tickets to see the heavyweight fight at the arena tonight.”

“The championship fight was decided in the final round by a technical knockout, much to the surprise of the spectators.”

Synonyms

bout match

04will to succeed

B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun

n. the desire or ability to keep trying when things are difficult.

n. the internal spirit, courage, or determination required to continue struggling against opposition.

“The team lost the game, but they showed a lot of fight until the end.”

“Despite the grim diagnosis, the patient still had plenty of fight left in her and committed fully to the recovery programme.”

Synonyms

spirit determination grit

Antonyms

apathy surrender

05to engage in combat

A2 · Elementary

v. to use physical force or weapons against someone.

v. to engage in physical conflict or battle against an opponent.

“Soldiers were sent to the border to fight the invading army.”

“The two rival factions have been fighting over this small territory for more than a decade with no resolution in sight.”

Synonyms

battle combat

Antonyms

surrender yield

06to struggle for a cause

B1 · Intermediate

v. to work very hard to achieve something or to stop something bad.

v. to strive vigorously for a specific goal or to campaign against an injustice or social issue.

“She spent her whole life fighting for women's rights in her country.”

“The local community is fighting to prevent the historic library from being demolished to make way for a luxury apartment complex.”

Synonyms

campaign strive advocate

07to resist a feeling

B2 · Upper Intermediate

v. to try hard not to show or feel an emotion.

v. to struggle to suppress or control an internal impulse, emotion, or physiological reaction.

“He had to fight back tears during the sad movie.”

“She struggled to fight the urge to laugh during the serious ceremony, biting her lip to maintain a professional expression.”

Synonyms

resist suppress repress

Antonyms

indulge yield

From Middle English fighten (“to fight”), from Old English feohtan (“to fight, combat, strive”), from Proto-West Germanic fehtan (“to fight”), from Proto-Germanic fehtaną (“to comb, tease, shear, struggle with”), from Proto-Indo-European *peḱ- (“to comb, shear”). Cognate with Scots fecht (“to fight”), West Frisian fjochtsje, fjuchte (“to fight”), Dutch vechten (“to fight”), Low German fechten (“to fight”), German fechten (“to fight, fence”), Danish fægte (“to fence, to fight (using blade weapons)”), Norwegian fekte (“to fence”), Swedish fäkta (“to fence, to fight (using blade weapons), to wave vigorously (and carelessly) with one's arms”), Latin pectō (“comb, thrash”, verb), Albanian pjek (“to hit, strive, fight”), Ancient Greek πέκω (pékō, “comb or card wool”, verb). Related also to Old English feht (“wool, shaggy pelt, fleece”).

From Middle English fight, feyght, fiȝt, fecht, from Old English feoht, ġefeoht (“fight”), from Proto-West Germanic fehtan (“to fight”), from Proto-Germanic fehtą, gafehtą (“fight, struggle”), from Proto-Germanic fehtaną (“to struggle with”). Cognate with Dutch gevecht (“fight”), German Gefecht (“fight”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

NOUN

fight(A2)